Self Exile
by Delta2060
Summary: The Lion Guard is sent on a mission to bring to justice a rogue lion who has been reportedly killing off herds and upsetting the balance of the circle of life. Their only clue takes them to the gorge where they begin investigating. But none of them could have predicted that it would be their final mission.
1. Chapter 1

**So, it's been a while since I posted anything on this site and I did say that I'd do some short stories in the Lion King universe until I get my next BIG one done. So here is one of them.**

 **This is a story that details more closely the event mentioned a couple of times in both 'The Master Plan' and 'Dark Revelations'. If you don't remember or haven't worked it out by the synopsis already, yep, it's what happened to the Lion Guard in my story line. And also telling what happened to Kion and Fuli after that. So enjoy, I guess.**

 **This is only gonna be a few chapters long, probably around five (give or take one chapter maybe). And also, if you haven't already read my previous Lion King fic series, consisting of the four stories 'The Master Plan', Ashes Of Paradise', Kiara's Fate' and 'Dark Revelations', then I would suggest you go and read them first, as this short is about an event that takes place within that series's story line.**

Chapter 1

It was something that Simba had been talking to Kion about for a while now. Recently there had been many major issues in the Pridelands, all revolving around one unidentified figure. Up until now it was only Kion and his parents that knew about this problem and even Kiara was kept in the dark about it to the best of Simba's abilities. But today was the day that the king had given permission to the Lion Guard to deal with the unknown offender. The guard was all assembled at the base of Pride rock, ready to head out when Nala came down to them. She addressed the five members while shaking off the last few symptoms of sleep.

"So, you're going to catch the one who's been killing off the herds?" She asked.

"Yeah." Kion replied. "And it's about time someone was sent to do so."

"Well I want you to promise me that you'll all be careful today. As fierce as you are that doesn't make you invincible, any of you."

"Relax your majesty." Bunga piped up like he usually did. "We can handle this. And if you want we'll even bring this guy's hide back to mount on the cave wall."

"That won't be necessary, thank you." Nala said, irritated at the honey badger's personality. Then again, everyone was, but at least he meant well. That was what counted.

"Bunga." Fuli chipped in. "We're going to catch this guy and bring him to Simba. We're not going out there to find and bring back souvenirs from him."

"Just trying to have some fun."

"You always have fun, whether you try or not."

"Guys!" Kion interrupted. "Please, we have a job to do. Lets go and do it. Shall we?"

"Sure. I don't know why we're still standing here chatting anyway." Bunga said as he strutted off in a direction. "Come on guys."

Fuli came and stood by Kion and made a sound of complaint as she shook her head.

"You know, sometimes I wonder whether he should have really been on this team or not."

"He's the bravest in the Pridelands. Whether or not he's annoying at times can't change that. I think we'd be a lot worse off without him." Stated Kion.

The young lion turned back to his mother as she waited patiently for them to say their farewells for the day.

"Well, I'll see you later mom."

Nala smiled and replied. "See ya later, son."

And with that the queen stroked her son on the head, lightly ruffling his small red mane, before letting him go. Kion smiled and then turned away and departed with the rest of the guard as Nala watched them slowly get smaller and smaller in the distance. Eventually she gave up and headed up to the den where Simba and Kiara were. For them, at least, the day was shaping up to be pretty bog standard.

* * *

Ono lead on in front and in the air with Beshte trailing on behind with Bunga, Fuli and Kion. The wind didn't seem to hinder the egret as he ploughed on through to where he had been told they were heading.

On the ground Beshte turned his head halfway to talk to their team leader as he wasn't actually certain as to where they were going himself.

"So, Kion, where are we heading to exactly?"

"My dad said that we'd have the best chance of finding the guy if we looked around the gorge. So that's where we gonna start looking. Simple really." 'Kion explained to his colleague.

"Oh, OK. I haven't been to the gorge in a long time. I wonder if it's changed at all."

"I don't think it has." Fuli joined in. "I was there just the other day and it looked the same as it always has. Mind you, there's definitely more rocks and boulders around than there used to be."

"So do you have any idea what we're gonna do if we find this guy?" Beshte asked Kion.

"I don't know. But I'll think of something. I'm sure." Kion replied.

What they did know, however, was that the person they were after was without a doubt a lion. And this lion had been killing off many of the Pridelands' herd animals and causing much damage to the circle of life.

Due to each of them trying to formulate some kind of plan, some more than others, as to what to do once they caught the rogue lion, none of them caught sight of the dark, four-legged figure spying on them from a distance and behind the cover of a group of fallen trees.

And anyway, the gorge was just starting to come into sight on the horizon, causing all of the members to be completely fixated on their task in hand.

 **And who's that I wonder? Well if you remember 'The Master Plan' well enough you'll probably have a couple of options in mind. Just have to wait to find out won't ya. Anyway, leave a review if you can and I'll have the next chapter up in a few days.**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, so here's chapter 2. Still on the build up. It's not as long as the last one but I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 2

What seemed like a long time had suddenly melted away into a period that felt mere minutes long, when the gang reached a place no more than a hundred metres from the edge of the gorge. Kion decided they could all do with a quick rest before they went any further, and that's just what they did. Beshte and Bunga sat together on the ground near some triangular pointed rocks while Ono perched up on a low down tree branch. Kion and Fuli parked themselves atop a smooth topped rock overlooking the valley around them. Despite the blistering sun shining down on them, it was surprisingly cool today, probably due to the light breeze blowing.

"Can you see anything Ono?" Kion asked.

Ono took a look at the gorge in the distance, his advanced eyesight giving him a crystal clear image of it. But there was nothing there. Only the gorge, grass and the sky with the occasional animal strolling past.

"Nothing. Nothing that shouldn't be there that is." The egret replied.

"So either this guy has moved on..." Kion started.

"Or he's very good at hiding." Beshte finished.

Kion sniffed the air as he tried to catch a scent of any unfamiliar lion. But try as he might there was nothing he could pick up.

"I can't smell anything. Although that might be because we're far away still."

"I could go and take a look if you wanted. It'll only take me a minute." Offered Fuli.

Kion smiled. "Thanks, Fuli. But I would rather we all go in as a team than just the one of us. It's safer that way."

"OK. I won't argue with you there."

"Pfft. What's wrong with dangerous?" Of course that came from Bunga. The one that thought danger was in the same category as an early morning stroll. "I'll gladly take on this guy. Single handedly if need be."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Bunga." Said Beshte.

"Ha. You say that now but when you're watching me beat the guy to the ground with my eyes closed, you'll be thankful that I did it."

Kion joined in and got the honey badger's attention.

"Beshte's right, Bunga. We have no idea what this guy's like. He could kill us all in a matter of minutes if we're not careful."

That was enough to keep Bunga quiet while he thought about it. It was all very well and good him acting brave all the time, but sometimes (well quite often actually) he had to be reminded of his own mortality. And this time around, he chose to listen to the rest of the team and go along with their ideas.

A few minutes later and the guard was getting ready to finished the last leg of their journey. If they spent any more time resting then they'd lose all hope of even getting close to catching the one who'd broken multiple laws of the Pridelands. As they were getting up and moving off the rocks they'd adopted as temporary seats, a strange and unfamiliar shape caught Fuli's eye, just for second or less. It moved through some bushes to their left. She turned her head to have the whole scene in view but by that time it was too late. Whatever had been there just now had moved on nearly completely unnoticed.

It wasn't until Fuli heard Kion call to her from a distance that she realized she'd been left behind.

"Fuli! Come on!"

"Huh?" Fuli impulsively murmured as she turned to see the rest of the guard at least fifty feet away by now.

She took one last glance at the row of bushes, sort of expecting to see something, but to no avail. She then quickly went and caught up with Kion and co.

"What were you doing?" The young lion asked.

"I thought I saw something. In the bushes. It was like..." Fuli thought for a moment. Had she seen something, or was it just a trick of the imagination? She decided on the latter. "Never mind. I'm just imagining things."

"Well... OK. Then if you're alright we'll get moving. We can't afford to waste any more time. Come on Lion Guard." Kion ordered.

The formation of five resumed their previous squad. None of them were yet sure as to what they would do should they come across the perpetrator. Restrain him perhaps? But what if he was too big and strong for them? What if he was hostile on sight?

Well that was just one of the many daily thoughts that each member had to deal with. They'd gotten used to it. For them this was just another day, another walk in the savannah. And that meant that the day should go smoothly, ending with them back at Pride rock in the evening and getting to sleep, ready to do the same thing over again the next day.

It seemed like nothing could break that cycle.

Or could it?

 **Oh how I love being ominous. Anyway, the next chapter is where the BIG THING OF DOOM happens! See, now you're interested.**

 **Chapter 3 will be posted in a few days like the previous one was. Please leave a review, guest or signed in works fine, and tell me what you thought. I'll see ya in the next one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So here's the very climactic chapter three! This one took a little while and I'm quite proud of it. This is definitely up there with some of my longest chapters to date and I think it really is one of my best. Well, I should probably stop talking now before I spoil anything. So here you go, enjoy.**

Chapter 3

They were staring down into the gaping pit that was the gorge. The scene of a fair few bad incidents over the years and one of the few places in the Pridelands that Kion actually feared somewhat. From afar it looked normal but when you got up close its ominous presence was greatly enhanced, like it just oozing memories of a terrible past. However, they weren't here to marvel at its powerful appearance, they were here to do a job. And that job they would do.

"Alright Ono. Fly up and see if you can spot anyone now." Kion ordered.

"Affirmative." Replied the bird.

Ono flew up into the air, partially fading into the clouds due to them being the same colour as his feathers. When he was almost out of sight the guard heard him call down to them.

"Still no sign of the rogue lion!"

"Damn." Kion sighed. "Maybe he really has moved on."

Just when Ono was about to head back down to rejoin his team, he thought he spotted something move in the gorge. A dark shape. The rogue perhaps? But it did also look a lot like another infamous figure of Pridelands' history.

Whatever it was, it warranted an investigation. Ono immediately dived down as fast he could. He perched himself down on the ground beside Kion, his speed making him sway a little upon landing.

"Kion, I just saw something." He sputtered out.

"What? Where?" Kion said, puzzled.

"Down there." The egret told him, gesturing with his wing into the place he referred to. "In the gorge. It was a dark shape that went behind a sharp turn in the wall."

"Could it be this rogue guy?" Beshte suggested.

"We can't afford not to find out. Come on!" Kion instructed before he clambered on down a particular set of platforms descending into the gorge.

The others reluctantly followed. None of them really wanted to go down there, but they didn't exactly have much of a choice in the matter. Ono was fine though a she just flew down. Beshte, however, was being especially careful. His weight and size were a very dangerous factor when combined with the ledges that stood between them and certain death.

A couple of minutes later, by some miracle, the whole team made it to the floor of the dust ridden pit. They could only see about ten feet in front of them before the orange dust obscured everything else beyond. Even Ono had trouble making out far areas. This he admitted when Kion asked something of him.

"Ono, how much can you see through all this dust?"

"Barely anything. Probably no more than you lot actually."

"Then lets stick together and try not to get lost. None of us want to be in here any longer than we need to be."

And with that the five members slowly merged into the thick orange fog of dust as they trekked through the gorge, towards the place where Ono said he spotted the dark figure.

* * *

Not much could be seen from up above save for the occasional glimpse of the ground. Looking into the gorge from the top was a rather pointless activity because of this inability to actually see anything. But there was an exception to that, right now, and it was a brown four-legged creature that was doing the staring. He was on the look out, ready to act as soon as he saw his cue.

At his paws was the trigger, a wooden stake, that would cause a chain reaction and dispose of those who were causing him trouble. After that deed had been done, he would go and talk with his ally to discuss what should be done next.

After his mind had started to be numbed by the boredom of waiting, his eyes caught sight of his targets, intended victims. This was the time.

He hit the wooden stake and the first large rock began to fall...

* * *

"How much further are we gonna be lugging our butts around down here?" The rather annoying, whinny voice of Bunga complained.

"However long we have to be." Kion replied with a tone of annoyance.

"There can't be much of this gorge left." Fuli said. "We've been walking for about four minutes. Surly it can't be that big."

It was surprising that they'd still not come across the lion they were after. If he was indeed still here as they first thought then they would have found him by now.

That just added to the idea that maybe the rogue wasn't here any more and had fled to escape capture before the guard arrived. The option that was now becoming very likely.

Once Kion and his team hit the wall at the edge of the canyon they would have to head on back to Pride rock and tell Simba the bad news. He surely wouldn't be happy about this.

Mere moments later ,though, rocks began to fall from above and land on the ground. Rocks that were only the size of pebbles really. Kion looked up but didn't think much of it. That was until much larger stones began to fall. One of them narrowly missed Kion's head and it hit the ground next to him, cracking upon impact.

"Wait a minute..." The young lion muttered.

The stones and pebbles continued to fall. And then Kion saw, at the top of the gorge, there was a much larger shape looming over the edge.

Then he realized what was going on.

"Oh no. Guys, run!" He shouted.

"What? Why?" Fuli questioned him.

"Look!" Kion replied, raising his paw to point to the danger.

The others all looked up and they too saw what was hanging in the air and about to drop upon them. By now there was a second boulder, and a third, and a fourth, and even more getting ready to tumble down.

"Move!" Kion once again shouted.

At this the guard all began a sprint back towards where they had entered the gorge. But as they took their first steps the first boulder had started plummeting through the air, crashing into the canyon wall and impacting with the ground right behind them. Dust was thrown up from the ground and tossed into the air, most of it landing on the animals fleeing for their lives. Ono tried to fly up but the dust was too heavy for him to get any further than a few feet off the ground, making him just as helpless as the rest of them.

They continued to run as fast as was possible for them but even Fuli was having trouble outrunning the line of boulders collapsing along behind them. But she couldn't go at her full speed without leaving her friends behind.

The guard were all going at speeds that would cause weird flashes at the edge of the eyes by now, but there was no way they were letting that stop them. A spark of relief also came when Kion, who was out in front by now, spotted that the row of boulders was coming to an end above them. The last few would drop and if they could all get far enough in front they'd survive. Ideally he needed to tell the others, but he was struggling to breath as it was already. Instead he prepared himself to jump forward. Hopefully the other would see him and react the same way.

Kion felt his legs turn to jelly as he leapt up into the air and shot forwards, landing in a place just a few feet from where the shadow of the last rock was being cast. The others looked to be quite close behind him and he almost believed that they were going to make it. They were going to m-

CRASH!

The last few boulders hit the ground with a sudden and amazingly loud impact. Dust was flung up everywhere and all over Kion, even knocking him off his feet as he stumbled back and fell over.

The gorge was silent.

* * *

Dark grey eyes glinted in content at the victory. The dark lion stared down into the pit where he had just killed off the lion guard. He began to chuckle in an evil manner but stopped when he sensed another presence behind him. He turned and saw another dark brown furred lion. It had green eyes and a black mane, with the sense of death around him. Of course the other dark lion, who's name was Jenvl, knew that was because he was already dead.

"Have you eradicated them?" The new lion asked.

"Yes." Jenvl replied coldly.

The new lion's eyes widened in delight,he red scar growing as he did.

"Excellent. That's one less inconvenience we'll have to deal with when we come to initiate the master plan."

Scar approached the edge of the gorge and gazed down into its dusty, dark depths. All was going to plan.

"Can I just ask you something?" Jenvl said. "I know you've planned all this out to the very last detail, but how can you be sure that the plan will be a success?"

Scar looked Jenvl in the eye and answered.

"There are certain advantages of having passed on from this world and living in the spirit domain of the Skylands. I know this will work. I'm certain it will. That is all you need to know."

Scar then turned and began to walk away. Jenvl watched him, staying where he was. Even though it had been him and his two followers who had first come to Scar, it seemed it was now Scar that was in charge of them.

Before the dark, ominous creature vanished into the distance, which had now become moderately thick with fog, he muttered one last thing.

"Go back to your outpost. We will continue the next phase of the plan in a few days."

And then, just like a ghost, Scar was gone. Leaving nothing but an empty air which was only penetrated by Jenvl eventually leaving himself.

Then silence.

* * *

Kion coughed repeatedly as he got to his feet and blinked constantly to get the dust out. There was an irritating ringing in his ears and he could still see strange flashes in the peripherals of his vision, but otherwise he had escaped unharmed.

It wasn't long before the dust started to clear though, and then the young lion saw in front of him, where he had been probably no more than a minute ago, a huge pile of rocks and boulders stood stacked up. The pile looked to be pretty solid throughout as it loomed overhead and it took Kion a few moments to realize something very vital.

His friends! Where were they? The last he saw of them was when they were just behind him... Right where the rock fall now was...

Oh no! No, no, no!

"Guys!" Kion shouted as he ran to the rocks,his voice echoing around in the emptiness of the gorge.

He began to scrape his claws against the boulders but to no avail. They were solid as hell.

"Bunga! Fuli?"

Kion then tried to ram the brown and grey objects with his shoulder. But alas it can to no consequence.

"Ono? Beshte?"

By now tears had begun to form in Kion's eyes. He couldn't believe this. He'd just lost all four of his bets friends at the same time. His team for the last couple of years. His second family in a way.

"No..." He sniffed.

All of a sudden the world was shut out. There was nothing else Kion could picture in his head. Why do people do that? In tragic situations they always block out the external world. Right now though, Kion didn't care why.

He eventually turned and very slowly began to walk away. He left a wet trail behind him from his eyes watering so much. There were almost no words to describe the misery he felt now.

"I'll... I'll miss you..." He managed as he went into full on crying while getting further and further away from the heap of killer stone.

Despite the ringing in his ears he could still feel the heavy silence of death lingering around him. A silence that went completely uninterrupted.

Until Kion had already left that is...

"Kion?" A dust ridden voice squeaked.

 **Dry those tears away people. It's not all bad.**

 **So yeah, that was eventful, wasn't it? Kion survived at least. But there's one other person still alive too. I wonder who it could be?**

 **Well since this one took a while to do and it's quite long the next chapter may be a bit later this time but I'll be sure to have it posted as soon as it's done.**

 **And just so you know, this story won't delve any deeper into Scar's plan as that has already been completely filled out in my original Lion King quadrilogy. Having said that, if you haven't already read my original four stories then I would highly recommend them. There's an entire story line that you're missing out on if you don't.**

 **So anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this one. Tell me how much you wish I hadn't killed the lion guard (most of them) and stuff if you like. And like I said just now, the next chapter may be a bit delayed but I will have it done soon I hope. Bye for now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So here it is. Chapter 4! Sorry it took a bit longer but there's a massive list of things that get in the way of writing these. Thankfully it didn't take too long and now I present the next chapter in this short story. Enjoy. And I think you'll be pleased with which guard member I chose to survive. Then again, I didn't have any choice in the matter because of my other story 'Dark Revelations'. But anyway, enjoy.**

Chapter 4

Simba stood in the gentle wind blowing through the Pridelands on the ceremonial ledge outside the pride's den. Today had been a particularly easy day for him and Nala. Kiara had been out most of the day with Tiifu and Zuri and there hadn't been much activity going on. The only remotely interesting thing going on was Kion and the guard tracking down the rogue lion, but that was their job and not Simba's.

All he wanted to do now was enjoy the breeze while it lasted. He just wanted to enjoy life while it lasted, especially after the incident all those years ago. Simba sighed and gazed out into his kingdom.

A couple minutes of staring aimlessly later and Simba thought he caught sight of a small golden shape moving very fast across the savannah, towards Pride rock. He squinted his eyes for a moment to try and better make out what it was, then he realized. A small red mane gave away the thing's identity.

"Kion?"

* * *

Kion was racing home, urgently needing to talk with his parents. Something terrible had happened and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to react properly, he didn't know what was going on any more.

He got to the bottom of the steps leading up to the den and saw his father at the top. Immediately Kion started to call out to him while clambering up the steps rather clumsily.

"Dad! Dad!"

"What is it, Kion?" Simba asked hurriedly, seeing something was wrong.

Kion reached Simba and quickly huddled up to him, wrapping himself around his father's front legs. He was even beginning to shed some tears but tried half-heartedly to hide it.

"Dad. Something horrible has happened." The young lion whimpered.

"There, there son." Simba comforted, patting his son on the back as his leg became soggy with the tears. "What's happened? And where are the others?"

"That's the thing. They're..." Kion burst into all out crying now.

Simba looked at him, feeling so sorry it was starting to make him sad too.

"They're dead..." Kion finally managed.

"What? Dead? How?"

"They... There was this... We were in the canyon and... There was a rock fall and they weren't... They weren't fast enough..." Kion wept even more, unable to continue right now.

"You must have been lucky to escape alive. But this is a tragic thing. No more guard means the Pridelands are vulnerable." Simba said as he looked up and then down again at Kion. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through this, Kion."

Simba realized he must have sounded a little cold on the matter when he said that. But really he couldn't come up with much to say at the moment. Now the guard was wiped out there would have to be other arrangements for the protection of the Pridelands. And of course Kion was in a really bad state and would probably need a few days at least of rest and time alone.

After a short amount of time Nala came onto the scene, seeing the scene in front of her. She decided to not announce her presence and instead nudged Simba on the shoulder.

"Simba, what's happened?" She whispered, hoping Kion wouldn't hear her over his own crying.

"I'll tell you in just a minute. Wait until I've got him sorted out."

"OK."

"Kion." Simba lowered his head to talk to his son. "Kion. Kiara's inside the den. Go and tell her what's happened and she'll comfort you for a bit. Your mother and I want to discuss something important a moment."

Kion wiped his nose and eyes before answering.

"Pro... Promise you'll come and sit with me later?" He asked.

"I promise. Now go on. Kiara will understand."

Kion trailed off into the den, leaving Simba and Nala alone outside.

"Simba, what's this all about?" She asked again.

"Nala, I think you'd better sit down for this."

* * *

The dust was starting to clear, only slightly. But at least it was a relief on her throat by now. It seemed the other three hadn't been as lucky as her. The rocks had crushed them but an arch had formed from the way the rocks fell and that arch just so happened to had fallen over her. It was a miracle. The whole arch was sealed save for a small opening where day light was pouring through.

"Kion?" She tried again. But it was pointless. Kion was gone and she'd definitely seen him leaving at least ten minutes ago.

He must've assumed that they were all dead. He was heading back to Pride rock to tell everyone. But if he did that then they might never come back for her. Why would they come and rescue someone who they thought was already dead? How was she going to get out of this one?

 _Come on Fuli. You can think of something._ She thought to herself.

After looking around in the small stone prison around her she saw very faintly in the dark that there was a narrow passage of sorts. It was a long shot but if she could fit through it then it might lead her out. Or at least back into the gorge where she could stand up properly. Fuli got ready to attempt to squeeze through the tiny looking gap. To her surprise she could fit with a bit of room to spare. She began to shimmy her way along, catching sight of a tiny pin prick of light at the end of a short tunnel.

It wasn't long before she was out and once again in the open of the gorge. Now a lot of the dust had cleared or settled, but still it impeded visibility to a certain degree. She looked around to see a scene of desolation and death all around her. Nothing but silence and the foul stench of fresh death. It was horrid.

But despite these distractions Fuli was still able to locate where the ledges leading up to the top were. It wouldn't be hard to climb them on her own, easy in fact. Once she was out of the gorge she would run all the way back to Pride rock and not stop for anything. After today all she wanted to do was curl up in the den and go to sleep amongst what was left of her friends. She also couldn't wait to see the silly grin on Kion's face when he discovered she was still alive. He would look so dumb but so cute at the same time and-

Fuli just realized something.

Silly really, but if Kion had in fact told everyone that she and the other guard members were dead, then wouldn't that effectively make her dead in the eyes of the pride? Of course she was in fact alive but could she handle the looks on all those faces when they found out the truth? What would it be like to walk into a place that thinks you're dead? Did she really belong there any more?

Why was Fuli thinking all these things? Of course she still belonged at Pride rock, what was she getting so worked up about? But for some unexplainable reason she felt as though a part of her had been taken away. But why? Nothing had caused it so what was going on?

Perhaps she was just shaken up by her close scrap with death? She just needed some time alone to think about how lucky she had been, and how unlucky her friends were. Maybe that was what was getting to her. Three of her closest friends were dead now, killed right beside her.

Whatever the reason for Fuli feeling this down all of a sudden, she was sure that a few days on her own couldn't make it any worse. She was used to being alone after all like she often used to be. So her plan was now this: Get out of the gorge and find a nice quiet place, either on the border of the Pridelands or outside of it completely, where she could rest and think things over for a bit.

Fuli began to climb, up and out of the gorge. Funny how it always seemed longer going up than it did going down when climbing things. Once at the top Fuli had to haul herself over the edge and onto solid ground once again. She saw that the sun had now sunk below the horizon as night began to creep in over the Pridelands, accompanied only by a light breeze. Right in the distance, so very far away by the looks of it, was Pride rock. Home. Or at least it... Had been...

"I'll be back. I'll see you soon Kion." Fuli muttered.

With that the cheetah turned while glancing back one last time at her home before moving into a sprint, heading for the border that separated the Pridelands from the rest of the world. She was sure she'd be coming back here in a few days. It wouldn't be easy but she would come back.

All she needed was a few days alone in an isolated place to come to terms with her loss and prepare herself for the reactions of the pride and other animals when she returned after being presumed dead. Just a few days...

 **Will Fuli be able to come to terms with all that's happened and will she return? Find out next time. *cue dramatic theme tune*. So yeah, there will probably only be a couple more chapters to this, it is a short story after all, and I'll try and get them done reasonably quickly.**

 **And once again, I really must recommend you checking out my other Lion stories if you haven't already, starting with The Master Plan, then Ashes Of Paradise, Kiara's Fate and lastly but not least Dark Revelations, because this fic is really just one small side aspect of the much greater plot in those fics.**

 **And one final note before I head off to listen to some Breaking Benjamin an d write the next chapter, please review if you have the time, guest reviews are welcome as well. Thanks. See ya next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this one took bit longer as well, things to do all the time and stuff. But anyway, here's how the rest of Fuli's night turned out and then the next morning. Enjoy.**

Chapter 5

The desert was actually quite cold at night unlike the rest of the savannah. Even the sand was cold, which was kind of a relief for Fuli as her paws had been starting to burn on the hot ground earlier. Now the cool sand was beneath her feet and sucking the heat out of them quite pleasantly.

She'd been wandering rather aimlessly for at least a couple of hours now and it must have been nearly midnight. Still there wasn't a cave or another similar sort of dwelling in sight. Just sand, sand and more blasted sand. She was beginning to lose hope of finding shelter that night until there came a happy sight for sore eyes. A small cave in the distance came into view, not more than a minute's run away.

Fuli's eyes lit up with relief as she bounded towards it. Once there she was careful when checking inside. For all she knew there could already be a nesting animal inside. Thankfully the cave was empty, leading to her investigating it further. The walls were quite dry and it was rather cosy due to its small size. A small pile of wood was in the centre, obviously an unlit fire. Someone must've been there before but moved on. Quite a while ago too as the wood was nowhere near fresh.

Still, it would do. After traipsing around the desert for hours on end even the elephant graveyard was starting to look homely. But at least the graveyard had company. Sure it wasn't good company, but it was company nonetheless. Fuli didn't plan on staying long anyway. If she couldn't find a better place then she'd stay in this cave for a few days and then return to the Pridelands.

Fuli was getting very tired now and a heavy yawn signalled that she should be getting to sleep fast. The dreary cheetah circled round before sitting on the surprisingly soft ground and laying her head down. It wasn't more than a minute before her eyes were closed and she was sound asleep and pretty soon the only sounds to be heard were those of the light breeze outside and Fuli's slight snoring inside. Quite peaceful indeed.

* * *

The sun was already high in the sky when Fuli awoke the next morning. The very late settling down from last night had taken its toll on her as she was still a bit tired even now. But she couldn't stay inside much longer, there was water and food to find.

Fuli blinked away what remaining sleep she could as she stepped into the blaring sun, having to shut her eyes swiftly at the intense heat and light. A few moments later she had managed to adjust to it and was now able to get a much better look at the surrounding area. It was very dark last night so now was her first good image of the place in daylight.

The ground was rather cracked in places and behind the cave was a small pond of water with a few low down palm trees around it. Some grass was also spread out around the body of water.

"Huh, jackpot or what?"

Well that was the water sorted. Fuli rushed on over to the mini oasis, anxious to get a decent drink at last. She stopped at the edge of the water and lowered her head down to have a drink. After she had quenched her thirst Fuli stretched a couple times and went back to the cave. Now there was just the matter of food to contend with. Unfortunately there wasn't much choice as to what was on the menu out in the desert. Fuli looked up and saw that the trees by the pond had some fruits growing on them, so there was one option. But really it was meat that she was after.

She would probably have to search further away in order to obtain the right kind of food. Unless... Hang on, what were those markings in the dirt beside the pond?

Fuli headed back over there and searched on the ground. There were numerous markings that looked like hoof prints. Gazelles perhaps? Or some similar herd animal. The prints looked very recent too, no more than two days. Maybe herds came through here regularly?

Just then Fuli heard a noise come from somewhere in the distance. It was a snorting sound, one that she was certain came from an antelope. There was another, this time from a different antelope. It sounded as though there was a herd coming. Fuli quickly hurried to the cave and hid, allowing herself a sneaky view of the pond. A minute later a group of about twelve antelopes turned up and started taking it in turns to drink from the water source.

They stayed there for a solid ten minutes until finally the biggest one of the lot, presumably the leader, signalled the rest of them to move on. Soon the small herd was just a tiny dot on the horizon as Fuli emerged from her hiding place.

This was good news. If herds like that came through here on a regular basis then she was sorted for both food and water. She was fully kitted out to spend a few days in this place.

She decided to get into the shade of the cave to rest before the next herd came along for her to catch one of them. She went inside but stopped dead in her tracks.

"Do I want to go back?"

She still hadn't thought that over yet. Then again there wasn't much thinking to do because she wasn't sure why she was thinking it. It just came out of nowhere and now she couldn't get rid of it, couldn't make up her mind whether to go back or not, couldn't determine anything any more.

This was all because of the deaths she'd witnessed, wasn't it? That was causing these conflicting thoughts. She wanted to return home, to go back and sleep amongst her friends. But...

That was it! Friends. And the whole place in general. If Fuli went back to the Pridelands then everywhere she looked there would be reminders of the horrors of yesterday, always shoving themselves in her face. Rafiki's cave paintings of the guard would remind her. The lack of anything to do now that the guard was gone would remind her. Even seeing Kion would remind her. And it was a reminder she could do without.

Nevertheless her mind was still unsure. Whatever her choice in the end was, only time would tell.

 **I must really be annoying some of you by this point by doing this whole 'what will Fuli do' thing. Sorry about that, I'm just trying to keep you engaged long enough to finish the story, (Rubs hands together** **sisterly).**

 **But anyway, I'm not sure how many more chapters there'll be as I haven't started writing the next one yet. Although I should think the next chapter will be the last. In fact I'm 95% sure of that. So I'll see you when that's complete.**

 **Remember to review if you have time and bye for now.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the wait guys. Computer thought it would be a good idea blow its own brains out and stop working properly and amongst a whole host of other technical issues right now there hasn't been a lot of time for me to write this. But I've got it done now, at last! So yeah, this is the last chapter in this short story about everyone's favorite yellow cheetah. Enjoy.**

Chapter 6

Time is illusive, when you think about it. One day five minutes can be just that, five minutes. Other days five minutes can seem like an eternity. More so when you have some very pressing matters on your mind. Time seems to go so fast when you contemplate important things, life changing decisions, as you fear for what could happen if you make the wrong choice. It's because you're blocking out all other stimulus around you in order to concentrate, and so you lose track of real time. Trouble is that there are some people who find it near impossible to stop, to escape this never ending loop of thought.

For Fuli, what was meant to be only a few days turned into weeks, months and finally it became years. All that time away from her original home had had an effect on her too.

The cheetah had done pretty well for herself since she'd been living out here. There was a fresh supply of water just a few feet away from her cave den, herds of animals frequently came through every couple of days or so that she could hunt for food, it had all the basics needed in life. Except company. Not that she wasn't used to being alone, but recently it had seemed like such a weird concept to her for some reason.

In the end she never went back to the Pridelands. Although she wasn't really sure why. No, actually she did know. It was out of fear. Fear of people's reactions to her being alive. Fear of the memories from all around the Pridelands that would keep reminding her of that terrible tragedy that happened that day. It was because she'd lost the sense of belonging in her own home. That was the real reason she hadn't returned.

And she'd almost given up on that previous life. But while searching around beyond the confines of her new territory Fuli had encountered a lone lion. She never found out much about him. She could barely even remember his name, what was it? That was it! His name was Karff. His name didn't matter however, but he spoke of some things that had apparently occurred in the Pridelands over the last few years. He spoke of a lioness called Zira leading an outlander invasion on pride, and how she was beaten by Simba's daughter, Kion's sister. Kion...

Oh, how she missed that lion.

But from what this lion said it sounded like they were having trouble back home. And although it may have passed they would still need time to recover afterwards. And that got Fuli thinking...

Would it be worth it to head on back and check up on them? Perhaps they needed help after this latest battle? Or perhaps they were fine? Who knew? The thing was, Fuli found herself desperately missing home more than ever now. She thought she could cope out here by herself but it seems that even the thought of bad memories wasn't enough to keep her away.

Now she was preparing to leave another familiar place in favour of returning to an old one. Of course she still had her doubts but right now they were nothing compared to the voice in her head saying 'go back now'. Fuli was sat in the mouth of her den watching the clouds go by. After a while she stood and glanced back into the cave she'd been calling home for the last few years. She might never come back to this and so savoured her final look at the place.

Soon she stopped and wandered outside where she stood for a good couple minutes. Which way was the Pridelands again? Was it... that way or... no it was that way. Yes it was definitely that way.

Well this was it. Fuli was about to abandon the last three or four years of her life to go back home, to her real home: the Pridelands. She took a deep breath, stole herself and broke out straight into a sprint back the way she had come four years before. Only this time in the reverse direction. It would take about two days perhaps, with her memory failing her slightly on the whereabouts of the Pridelands, to get to the border. If she was quick it could take just one day.

This was shaping up to be yet another new chapter in her life, albeit a very uncertain one. She needed to prepare herself mentally for what was to come. There was no telling what changes had gone on during her absence so caution was very important right now. Fuli was sure that she would be fine upon her return, but there was still one thought running through her head all the way while running.

 _Please let this be the end of it. The end of the pain._

 **And there you have it. The end of another fic. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought.**

 **Now that that's done, I would like to take this opportunity to say that if you haven't read my other Lion King stories yet I would really appreciate it if you could check them out. This short was just one small part of the wider plot that I made in those stories and I have a few ideas that I can add to it in future fics as well. Thank you.**

 **Well I guess I should be heading off to do some stuff now. I don't know when exactly I'll have another story up but until I do, bye for now.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, it's time to address this I guess. You guys really want a sequel to this don't you? Well since I've had so many requests for one I can confirm yes, I have started making plans for a sequel to this fic.**

 **It will mostly consist of scenes from Dark Revelations, the fourth and final story in my main series (also the only other story I've written that Fuli is present in), but retold from mainly Kion and Fuli's perspectives, with some more bits added in that try and focus more on the aforementioned couple. And I'll admit, I did kind of shove Fuli to one side in the latter half of Dark Revelations and didn't really go into as much detail of what happened to her than I would have liked. So this is like an opportunity to correct that and try and give some closure on what she was going through at that time.**

 **Well, I hope this pleases some people because lord knows it won't please my schedule (which is already very jam-packed as it is). I'm not just doing this for the sake of pleasing the fans either, as I do want to improve what I tried to do with Fuli previously. So that's about it for this. I haven't started writing yet but I'll try and get the first chapter done within a week or so. But just a heads up, this is gonna be a tough job so it'll take some time.**

 **Other than that, have a good day and I'll be seeing you all in whatever gets posted next.**

 **Bye for now :)**


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